Hawaii Views by Aston Select

For some, the perfect Hawaii vacation requires lodgings with an amazing view, and those are the clients for whom Aston Select was created.

Aston Select — a new category of rooms now available at Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel — is comprised of two types of accommodations, each with its own private lanai. Oceanfront Select rooms guarantee unobstructed panoramas of Waikiki Beach. Ocean View Select rooms, located on the hotel’s 20th floor and above, feature dramatic bird’s-eye views of the ocean and the many people enjoying it.

For clients booking an Aston Select room, the hotel manager has selected an amenity of locally made goods, including guava juice, Waialua soda, Kona Deep water and lilikoi (passion fruit) bars made by Cookie Corner of Honolulu. Aston Select guests also enjoy the hotel’s standard free amenities such as high-speed Internet access and Breakfast on the Beach, a variety of to-go breakfast items served poolside.

According to Aston’s senior vice president of sales, marketing and revenue management Shari Chang, Aston came up with the new initiative based on feedback from customers who were bothered by differences in room categories from hotel to hotel.

“What one hotel calls ‘ocean view’ may be partial ocean view at another,” said Chang. “This can be very frustrating to Hawaii visitors seeking that dream view. We decided to take it to the next level and handpick the absolute best views in our hotel in order to guarantee consistency and ensure guest satisfaction.”

The Aston Select accommodations were chosen by the company’s sales and marketing team and the hotel’s general manager, who visited each room under consideration and evaluated the view based on established guidelines to determine if it would qualify for the Aston Select category. Chang said that while many of the hotel’s 645 rooms have terrific ocean and partial ocean views, only 79 rooms were designated as Aston Select.

Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel completed a $16 million room upgrade in 2006, and its fresh decor complements the new classification of rooms. The hotel was also tapped for the launch of Aston Select due to its extraordinary views. So far, the response to the new room category has been “fantastic,” said Chang. Aston Select room rates run about $20 more than non-Aston Select accommodations. Through the end of 2012, Ocean View Select rates start at $215 per night, with Oceanfront Select rates from $252.

“Since Aston Select has been well received by our customers so quickly, we are already looking into expanding the concept to all islands,” she said.

Aston is promoting the new program — which has its own logo — through advertising, online promotions and its marketing partners.

“We feel that this is an innovative approach to meeting the changing needs of our guests, some of whom really value a fantastic view over other considerations,” Chang said.

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